


A Very Good Spy

by Behindthealias



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 21:03:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7729669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Behindthealias/pseuds/Behindthealias
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whatever his title might have changed to, his human would remain his human. Under The Iron Bull's watchful eye, his human would change the world. He was, after all, a very good spy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Very Good Spy

The Iron Bull first laid eyes on the Inquisitor in the best circumstances possible, that is, in battle. He saw them coming from a mile away because he was  _ that  _ good, but he didn’t expect the Herald to come with only three other people to protect him. Contrary to what most people thought, Bull knew the ins and outs of politics and if the people were crazy enough to call this man something like the Herald of Andraste with big capital letters, then he was important enough for a lot of people to want to protect and for more people to want to hurt him. Here he was, armed to the teeth and hacking his own way through a bunch of bandits on the Storm Coast of all places with nothing but his small entourage. Bull was a little too distracted to really look him over at first, but he had the impression that the herald was smaller than he thought he’d be, though he thought all humans were tiny to begin with. When the commotion ended, he got a better look and realized this human carried an ax about as large as any he carried himself and damn if he didn’t get turned on just a little bit by how effortlessly the herald spun the thing around as if he was dancing with it. Bull threw his  trepidation about joining the Inquisition into the sea at his back and pledged himself to the man before him. 

“We’ll be expensive, but we’ll pay our own way,” he warned. The herald shrugged and said, “We need all the help we can get. You’re on.”

At Haven, Bull stayed well out of the way and set up a little niche by the makeshift stables. Everything about the way the Inquisition ran things was as if they lived and breathed war. It was a hard way to do things, but it was kind of necessary given the circumstances. With Thedas gone to shit, the Inquisition provided more hope and stability than any kingdom or order left standing. The Herald, whose name Bull thought about often, but never said aloud, managed to work in ethics of all things despite the shit everyone was going through.

“Can we afford to think about such things in a war?” Red was being cross with the Herald one day.

“Yes, because they’re important. Now more than ever, Leliana.” His voice was soft and even kind, despite having just stopped Red from chopping some guy’s head off. Bull slipped away from the corner of the tent, having heard enough to be impressed. Those first, frantic days went by and Bull decided that he might thank Krem for suggesting the Inquisition because slowly, he learned more about the man making the whole shebang possible and liked what he saw. The Herald could fight off five darkspawn and two heavy’s on his own with little trouble and was a master at strategy, milking every last bit of potential out of the small group he had at his disposal. At the end of the day, though, even when he was covered in a crusty coating of blood and grime, he still managed to crack a terrible joke or two in camp. In the quiet moments between battles, he would ask questions that could pull Bull’s head quite away from battle and make him think of what he left behind or ran away from in Seheron and he always came away a little more aware that he was happier away from the Qun even if he was a spy. 

After Therinfal Redoubt, where he witnessed the Herald take down a massive demon, a flame ignited in Bull’s chest that made him hunger for the lithe body he was sure rested underneath the bloody armor. The Herald, his Herald, took down the kinds of things that Bull feared the most, the kinds of things the Temasserans couldn’t kill when he was a kid. It wasn’t often that the Iron Bull felt protected. It also wasn’t often that he wanted so badly to take someone and hide him away. The Herald was like the second coming of Andraste for most people and the stress of it all showed in the little things like the tired slope of his shoulders and the frustrated raking of a hand through that cute tuft of hair. His Herald wasn’t just his Herald, but their Herald and he needed to be focused, at least for now. That’s why Bull resisted pouncing on the Herald each time he visited. Instead, he kindled his flame with the soft blushes that bloomed across the Herald’s cheeks when they spoke and somehow he knew that the feeling was mutual. Bull was, after all, a very good spy.

Haven went to shit soon after and for those long and cruel hours that the Herald was missing had Bull regretting every second that he hadn’t stayed with him or even told him how much he cared. Damn if he didn’t know he cared this much about that man until he was lost to him. Bull waited by the entrance to the little valley they were camped out in and his belly flipped when his Herald finally emerged from the snow, gripping his hand, the hand that started it all. Watching him sleep, he wondered if it hurt. Not very many people asked that question and if it hurt, his Herald never gave any indication that it did. Bull saw it, though, the single twitching pinky and the slight dilation of the pupils. With every rift, the Herald’s arm seemed to weigh heavier on that wiry frame. He watched his Herald closely as he slept and growled when Red and the blonde chicken’s fighting woke him up. He knew how badly the Herald needed to rest. It hadn’t occurred to Bull how human his human really was until he saw how brave of a face he put on for the sake of the people singing that damnable song as if for Andraste herself.

It didn’t surprise him in the least when the Herald buckled over after getting behind closed doors at Skyhold. Bull caught him before the Herald even knew he’d snuck in with him and tucked him securely into his makeshift bed with unusual gentleness. After, he’d snuck out without anyone knowing the wiser. The first few weeks settling in at Skyhold were chaotic, frantic even, but they were the best days, like the calm before a storm. Just when things were beginning to really fall into place and the ruin was looking a bit less like a ruin, Bull jumped his Herald the only way a spy knew how.


End file.
